It Took a While
by GossipGirlHere
Summary: Oliver and Katie hadn't seen each other for four years when they met the morning Voldemort fell. Can they become the old friends that they once were, recover from the tragic war that shook the wizarding world, and fall it love? It may take a while...
1. It's Been Ages

**A/N: I'm a HUGE Oliver/Katie shipper, but this is the first time I've ever tried to write them, so I'm not sure how it'll turn out. I'm not sure how long it's going to end up being yet, but I want to have a chance to explore their future a little bit. This story starts almost the moment after Harry defeated Voldemort. I hope you like it!**

Katie wandered through the crowds of people in the Great Hall, looking for someone, _anyone_, that she could help. Katie was one of those high-energy people. She had a good heart, but was very active in whatever she chose to do, and she couldn't stand the idea of sitting around when there was so much work to do. Also, work helped distract her from thinking. She was horribly cut up about Fred. He and George had only been a year older than her, and ever since she joined the Quidditch team in her second year she'd been really close to them. In spite of herself she became lost in her thoughts and memories of Fred, and she accidentally bumped into a tall brunette that she recognized at once, though she hadn't seen him in years.

"Oliver!" she said in surprise as she stepped back. He looked just the same. He was still a good few inches taller than her 5 foot 7 inches, and she'd put him at about 6 foot. He had the same slightly shaggy brown hair, and his hazel eyes hadn't changed a bit in color, but there was a lingering seriousness and sadness that hadn't been there when he'd been at school.

"Katie!" he said, looking her up and down. She'd grown since he'd last saw her, but he supposed that she would have to look different at 18 from when she was 14. Her blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but he could tell it would make it to her waist if she let it down. She was taller, too. Her eyes, though, were just the same. Her bubbly blue eyes still showed every emotion she had, because that was who Katie was. It didn't surprise him at all when she gave him a hug.

"It's been _ages_! How have you been?" she asked, sitting down on the nearest bench (which happened to be alongside the Ravenclaw table).

He joined her and said, "Great. I'm on Puddlemere Untied's real team now, and--"

"Oliver that's great!" she was always interrupting him, and to this day it still made him smile. "I'm so glad to see you! It's been such a long time. But, I see four years hasn't changed you at all. Still Quidditch obsessed?" she checked.

"Well," he said with a smirk, "I wouldn't be Oliver Wood if I wasn't Quidditch obsessed, now would I?"

"No, you 'wood' not," she said with her own smirk.

He laughed. It'd been his and Katie's joke since her third year. She had a knack for slipping his name into at least every other sentence when she tried. "How've you been?"

"I've been good," she said, "I've been on the Holy Head Harpies reserve team, actually."

"Really?" he asked, "No way!"

"Yeah, way" she said.

"Wood! Bell!" came Professor McGonagall's voice, "Could you lend us a hand please?"

They both looked thunderstruck. For the first time all day they'd both forgotten about the war, about the battle, about the deaths..........about Fred.

"Yes of course," said Katie, "What do you need?"

"Well," said McGonagall, "We've got to get as many of the injured as possible up to the hospital wing, and then we need to conjure beds wherever there's room for the rest."

"Okay," said Oliver. They both headed over to the portion of the hall that had been occupied by the sick. Katie approached a girl who look about the same age as her. She was pale with black hair and blue eyes, and Katie recognized her at once. They may not have seen each other much since leaving Hogwarts, but Katie wouldn't forget her best friend so easily. "Leanne! Are you alright?"

"Katie," she whispered.

"I'm here," said Katie, who glanced down at her. Her entire torso was blood-soaked. "We're gonna get you to Madame Pomfry." She nodded, clearly too tired to answer, and closed her eyes. "Oliver!" called Katie over her shoulder, almost at the point of hysterics. She was smart enough to know that when a person closes their eyes while bleeding profusely it could easily turn into more than sleep

"I need some help moving her," she said, "She's really not well."

He nodded, and picked her up carefully. Katie found herself slightly surprised by how strong he was, but realized that she shouldn't have been with all the training he went through.

When they reached the Hospital Wing they deposited Leanne in a bed that Katie conjured just inside the door. They spent the rest of the day helping around the hospital, but both were glad to have each other around. When they finished for the day they went to find somewhere to sleep for the night. Most were conjuring beds in any old hallway, and they soon found a suitable nook in the fifth floor. They conjured up bed but for a while just sat a talked.

"So, how is it being with the Harpies," he asked.

"It's great. I've made all of these friends on the reserve team. Gwenog can be a bit of a snob occasionally, but she's not too bad."

Oliver laughed, "I had heard that, though since I wasn't on the real team until recently I've never played or met her."

"Well believe me, you don't want to."

They sat in a companionable silence for a while before Katie, always one to bring up the difficult subjects said, "Do you think everything will go back to normal? I mean, _can_ it?"

"Why not?" returned Oliver, "People can always rebuild. There'll be grieving, but at the end of the day we've got to be strong and move on. No one who died this morning or last night would want us to spend the rest of the lives they saved for us wallowing. Think of Fred...he wouldn't want George or anyone else to spend time grieving. He'd want us to all celebrate and embrace life the way he did."

Katie contemplated that for a moment, before saying, "I'm really glad you're here Oliver."

"I'm glad you're here too," he said, "I don't think I'd be able to face all of this alone."

They sat in silence for a few moments longer before Oliver said, "Well, there'll be more work tomorrow, so we should probably get some sleep."

"Always the responsible one," said Katie with a joking smile, "But you're right. We do need to be asleep."

"Goodnight Katie."

"Goodnight Oliver."

**I hope you guys liked it! I know it wasn't romantic, but realistically I just don't see them falling for each other right away when they hadn't seen each other in four years. I hope you liked the way their friendship is developing (or redeveloping is probably a better word). PLEASE leave me a review!!!**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere  
**


	2. Time to Move Forward

**Hey guys! I hope you enjoy this next chapter!**

The next few days passed in a flurry of activity, because about a week after the final battle there was going to be a ceremony where a memorial would be unveiled to honor those who died fighting Voldemort. The castle had to be rebuilt, and the wounded needed to be healed, so there was plenty to be doing. Oliver and Katie, who were both talented at potions, herbology, and healing spells, were always in the sick ward, where they were needed most. The day of the ceremony they went down to the lake together. A monument was to be erected there with the name of each person who had died during the war against Voldemort.

"Hey Katie," said Oliver as they walked across the grounds, "I've got to get back to training soon, but I was wondering if I'd still be seeing you around."

"Of course you will," she said, "I really want to keep in touch this time. When are you leaving?"

"Almost at once. I wanted to stay for the memorial, but Williams, our captain, needs me back."

"Oh, well don't you sound very important," said Katie in a joking tone.

Oliver laughed, and then took a deep breath a said, "Well, if you're prepared to make good on your promise, you wanna have dinner next week? I know a great place in London, and--"

Katie interrupted him and said, "Sure. I'd like that."

By this time they'd reached the lake, where chairs had been set up. They took their seats along with everyone else, and soon Kingsley stepped up to the podium and began speaking.

"We are here today to mourn a truly terrible loss. So many brave people were lost to Voldemort. Many families were destroyed, many children orphaned, and siblings abandoned. Many parents had to bury their children, and many friends wept. But these brave souls have not died in vain. They have created a new world, where no one will ever walk in the shadow of fear. They died to create a world where their friends, and children, parents and siblings, could all be equal, not matter what their ancestry is. They died to create a free wizarding world, and to them we owe our thanks. These will be difficult times ahead, and while we will never forget those that are no longer among us, we must strive to move forward. We must strive to rebuilt our world, and to uphold the values that our friends died for. And remember, do not pity the dead, for they are at peace. Remember those who we lost, but do not remember only at who's hands they died. Remember the good in each of the souls that are no longer with us. Remember the good times, and they will live on in our memory. Do not become lost in grief, for then they will have died in vain. I ask you now to look to the future, and to help us built a world where all can be free."

He waved his wand and a tall, black pillar appeared by the lake. On it were hundreds of names of wizards, goblins, muggles, and witches, all who had died in the fight against Voldemort. All around people were crying. The Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione were all sitting together; crying together. Angelina and Alicia were arm in arm, sobbing into each other's shoulders, not too far from George. Katie wept with her head on Oliver's shoulder, and he cried too. Everywhere people were exposing their sorrow, in hopes that the wounds would one day heal. After a period of time that could not be measured, people started slowly to dry their tears. A feeling of resolve was coming over the crowed as people thought about what Kingsley had said. They were ready to move on; not to forget, because they all knew they would never forget, and not to heal, for healing would take longer still, but they were ready to move forward, with the promise of peace glistening on the horizon, a horizon that had once seemed far off, but was now within reach thanks to those who had died.

As people began to trickle away each touched the memorial gently, running their fingers over the names of their friends and family. Katie walked up to George, who was lagging behind the Weasley crowd, running his fingers over the name _Fred Weasley_. Tears were streaming down George's face, and Katie couldn't suppress her own as she walked up to him.

"George," she said with a slight crack in her voice.

"What?" he said darkly, "Are you here to tell me that it's gonna be alright? That you're _sorry_? Cause if you are save your breath. No one can possibly understand this and I'm sick of people trying to tell me that they can."

"George," said Katie quietly, "I know that I don't understand what you're going through, and I know that it won't get better right away, but someday it will, I promise."

"And how do you know?" George burst out angrily. He looked truly desperate. "It's not gonna get any better ever. It's always gonna be this way from now on. Nothing can ever fix this!"

"Then what are you living for?" Katie said in a mixture of anger and impatience, "Fred wouldn't want this. He'd want you to remember what it was like to laugh, to play pranks! He'd want you to remember the good times, and to embrace life for the both of you!"

George looked dumbstruck. It wasn't unlike Katie to speak her mind, but he hadn't expected an outburst like that.

"Katie," said Oliver in a hushed voice, "Let it be. He needs time."

"But--"

"I've got it," interrupted Angelina, who'd come over. She took Georges hand quietly and walked him back up to the castle. What Katie would never know was that those words, _Then what are you living for?_ would stay with George forever. It would be those words, and the words of Angelina that were to come, that would make George pick up the pieces of his life. Because, really, what were they living for? He didn't know, but he wanted to find out.

Katie's shoulder's slumped as they disappeared, and she turned to the black column. Her hands traced over the names, some of which she barely recognized, and others that she knew very well..._Colin Creevey, Sirius Black, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, Ted Tonks, Rufus Scrimgeour_, _Cedric Diggory, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Fred Weasley._ The last name cut through her like a knife, and more pain came when she realized that the hundreds of other names that she didn't know were all someone's brother or sister, someone's daughter or son, someone's best friend, girlfriend, boyfriend, old friend...Each one of the names that covered the column represented hundreds of people who were hurting like George. Just the name _Fred Weasley_ was hurting so many; Molly, Aurthur, Bill, Percy, Charlie, George, Ron, Ginny, Angelina, Alicia, Harry, Hermione, Katie...

"You ready?" asked Oliver, his voice thick with shed and unshed tears.

"Yeah," she said with a nod, tears still clinging to her cheeks. She resolved as they walked back up to the castle that she was never going to forget the sacrifice of any that had been lost in the war against Voldemort, but she also knew that what she said to George was true. It was time to move forward.

**I hope you all liked that chapter!!! I'd really LOVE you if you left me a review, because a whole lot of you have this story on alert, but none of you have reviewed and it hurts my heart! I've never written anything that covers directly after the battle for _any_ of my stories ever, so I really wanna know how it was.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere  
**


	3. Stupid Expectations

**Hey guys! Again, sorry about the wait, but I really like the way this story is developing, and I don't want to rush updates and lose my style...I hope you all like this chapter.**

Two months after the final battle Katie found herself sitting in the Three Broomsticks one Friday night, waiting for Oliver. They'd made it their tradition now, and ever since the final battle they went for drinks together every Friday. This was getting harder for Katie though, because she was starting to realize that she cared way more about Oliver than she should. If she didn't snap out of it soon things were going to get ugly. He was a super-star Quidditch player for Christ's sake! She was just some chaser on the Holy Head Harpies reserve team, while he was the super star keeper for Puddlemere United. He had hundreds of fan girls, and since the final battle had appeared on the cover of _Witch Weekly_ as the month's most eligible bachelor. They'd had a good laugh about it, but Katie couldn't shake off the idea that at some point _someone_ would catch his eye.

Oliver's arrival broke through Katie's depressing thoughts as he said, "Hello."

"Hey," she said, "So, you nervous?" Oliver had a game the next day.

"Nah-we're a better team. I'm sure of it."

Katie smirked, "Always so sure of ourselves, aren't we? If I were you, I _wood_ be careful not to get to cocky."

"_Wood_ you?" he replied with a smirk of his own.

Katie rolled her eyes, "You can't do that! It's _my_ joke."

"And _my_ last name," replied Oliver.

"True enough," said Katie, but she couldn't help hoping that someday it would be her last name too...Which of course she realized was a stupid expectation.

"So, how's it going on the reserve team?" asked Oliver. As Katie complained about Gwenog and went on about all of her amazing teammates, Oliver thought about Katie. Over the past two months she'd become one of his best friends...he was able to tell her anything and he never had to worry about it getting around, or the press finding out, or anything...She was smart, funny, talented, caring, compassionate, and everything that he needed. Even her annoying habits made him smile-like when she interrupted him...whenever anyone else did that it annoyed the hell out of him, but not Katie. It was different with Katie. It was just part of her.

"Oliver!" called Katie, "Are you listening?"

"What?" he said, coming out of his reverie.

"I said: Are you listening?"

"Uh...Sorry, Katie, I've just been thinking, cause-"

"You were thinking while I was telling the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me?"

"Sorry. So, what is it?"

"I'm not telling."

"Come on, Katie!"

"Nope. You don't care enough."

"Yes I do! Please, please, _please_?"

"Okay-" said Katie, more because she was gonna burst if she didn't tell him than that she took pity on him, "I'M ON THE REAL TEAM NOW!"

"No way! Are you joking?"

"No! I'm so excited! One of the chasers, Burns, is retiring to spend more time with her kids (some sort of midlife crisis thing I think) and they've put _me_ in! Even though there are a bunch of reserve chaser's who've been there longer! Can you believe it?"

"Yes," said Oliver, "I know you're an amazing flier."

"Thanks," said Katie, looking down and blushing, "Anyway, we have a game next week. I don't know who we're playing yet though..."

"Wait-next week? What day?"

"Friday."

"Oh no..." said Oliver, as a horrible realization hit him.

"What?"

"_We're_ playing you on Friday!"

"What?"

"I said _we_ are playing you on-"

"I heard what you said," she interrupted him, "I just don't believe it."

"Well it makes sense," he reasoned, "We haven't played you guys yet this season."

"Still..." said Katie, looking worried, "I don't want Quidditch to affect our friendship. Win or loose, and one of us _will_ lose, we're still friends. Agreed?"

"Agreed," he said, taking her outstretched hand.

* * *

Friday arrived before they knew it, and it wasn't until then that they saw each other again. Both teams flew out onto the pitch performing a lap around it as the crowd applauded. Then they all flew into position, getting ready for the quaffle to be thrown up and the balls released.

"Katie!" Oliver called, waving to her in the split second between the release of the bludgers and snitch and the release of the quaffle. She waved back before getting into game mode, and once she was in game mode there was no getting out of it. She tried throughout the game to pass to the other two chasers before heading towards the goal posts, because trying to score on Oliver was too strange. She'd done it in a hundred practices, but doing it in an actual game was against her very nature. Katie was a player who used her boundless energy to conjure up hate towards the players on the other team during the game, but it was _impossible_ to hate Oliver, even when he was on the other team.

Soon the Harpies were up, unbelievably, 150, because about halfway through the game Katie had decided that for better or for worse they were opponents, her and Oliver, and she was going to start acting like it. After that decisive moment she was unstoppable, scoring more than the two other chasers on her team combined. As Katie flew towards the goal posts to score again, in order to make them 160 points up, Oliver was seized with a temporary insanity. He'd been watching her through the game, which was part of the reason he'd let her score so much, because he wasn't paying attention, and he was having trouble putting on his game face. For the other two chasers it was no problem, but when Katie approached goal he couldn't do it. Not only that, he'd forgotten how pretty she was when she flew. He hadn't seen her fly in years, but she still looked the same. Her eyes sparkled with determination, and she leaned over the broom, clutching the quaffle close to her, under her arm, just as _he_ had taught her as her coach, making it hard for other chasers to get it away from her. Her blond hair would whip around in the wind, and she'd be so beautiful he would be transfixed. It was this insanity that caused him to shout as he saw her approaching.

"Katie!" she slowed a bit, because she hadn't expected him to address her directly, "Katie! Will you go out with me?" Katie stopped dead, but kept her hold on the quaffle.

"Are you insane?" she yelled back, because they were still a decent distance apart.

"Katie!" called Gwenog, flying around to her, and leaving the other beater to deal with the bludgers accordingly, "What are you doing?"

The commentator's voice was added to the mix at that point, ringing through the crowed, "It appears that Wood has just asked Bell out! Does he mean it, or is it a new tactic. Bell, the newest chaser on the Harpies as proved her worth already, but this sheds some interesting light on the situation. Are she and Wood acquaintances? Has he been _letting_ her score."

"Katie," said Gwenog, "Shoot. Now."

Katie nodded before flying towards the goalposts again. She was almost close enough to shoot when the commentator's voice ran out again, "And Puddlemere's seeker has spotted the snitch" Katie sped up, if the seeker caught the snitch before she scored it'd be a tie game. She threw the quaffle and it was midway through the air-nanoseconds making the difference, when the seeker caught hold of the snitch.

"Damn," Katie whispered, as the quaffle soared through the left hoop, missing Oliver's hand by millimeters. She'd been _so_ close to saving that game...

She turned around to see Gwenog, looking livid.

"Gwenog, I'm sorry," said Katie, flying over to her.

"Well," Gwenog snapped, "It isn't _totally_ your fault, and if it wasn't for you scoring throughout the game we wouldn't even have tied. If you could have been just a _little_ faster," she looked irritated now, "But how were any of us supposed to know that you'd get _assaulted_ by the keeper like that? So unprofessional. Do you even know him?" she asked, turning to Katie.

"Um, yeah," said Katie, "He was my coach on the Gryffindor team for three years. We're friends."

"Well," said Gwenog, looking at something over Katie's shoulder, "I'll leave you to deal with _that_ mess, while I deal with the press. Just deal with it _off_ the pitch. This is already gonna make every sport's magazine cover this month..."

Katie turned to where Gwenog was looking, and saw Oliver flying over to her. Taking Gwenog's warning she didn't go to him, but instead landed, and made her way to the changing rooms.

"Katie! Katie!" Oliver called, and he ran to catch up with her. Unfortunately, he had longer legs than her, and caught her without much effort.

"So?" he asked, "Will you?"

"Will I what?" she asked irritably.

"Will you go out with me?"

"You expect me to believe you were serious?" asked Katie incredulously, "I can't help but think it was just a game tactic. Effective, I'll admit, but really Oliver?" she was angry, and she was hurt. It hurt her a lot to think he'd play with her emotions like that. He obviously didn't know how crazy about him she was, but still, it was just cruel. What made her more upset was that she couldn't even hate him for it. She was horrifically angry at him, but at this point nothing could make her _hate_ him. All the same, that didn't mean she wasn't pissed. She was.

"Katie," said Oliver, "I'm serious. Will you go out with me?"

"Oliver," said Katie, trying not to shout, "You didn't want to loose the game, mission accomplished. Just drop it."

She turned around and found herself face to face with a large group of reporters that Gwenog was trying in vain to keep at bay. She looked to Gwenog who shook her head, and Katie took that to mean "Say nothing."

Everywhere reporters were calling to her, and soon she and Oliver were surrounded.

"Miss Bell!" called a women, "I'm from _Quidditch Insider_. Were you previously acquainted with Oliver Wood?"

"Mr. Wood!" called a man at the same time, "What was the purpose of that declaration? Did you mean it, or was it a new game tactic?"

"Look what you've done," whispered Katie to Oliver, trusting that all the shouting reporters would cover their conversation.

"What _I've_ done?"

"If you'd accepted defeat gracefully and stuck with our agreement I wouldn't be in this mess!"

"_You_? I'm the one that looks either: A. Heartless; B. Insane; or C. _Both_."

"Well maybe you are!" shouted Katie. The reporters were all listening intently.

"Katie, listen, I-"

"Spare me," said Katie, turning around to walk away. Oliver grabbed her arm, and Katie, angry and hurt, snapped. She turned and slapped him, hard, before walking away."

"Katie!" he called as she walked away, having to jump to see her over the crowed of reporters.

She didn't turn around.

* * *

The next morning, a Saturday, thank God, Katie got a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ as she did every morning, and a copy of _several_ Quidditch magazines. She didn't even look at the Quidditch magazines at first, but instead turned to her _Daily Prophet_, hoping it would take her mind off the horror that was yesterday. She had just finished breakfast, so she took the magazines (still not even looking at their covers) and the paper into the living room of her flat. She glanced at the front page as she sat down only to feel the need to throw up her breakfast. She wasn't the main front page article, but it wasn't much better than that. A photograph of her slapping Oliver was playing and replaying itself on the bottom half of the front page. The caption read: _Katie Bell, newest and promising chaser on the Holy Head Harpies taking out her anger on the Puddlemere United keeper Oliver Wood after the stunt he pulled at their match yesterday. Was it fair play? Was it even allowable? Should a referee have interfered? Turn to the Sports Section._ Katie flinched as she watched herself slap Oliver a few times. It looked pretty bad, she hadn't meant to hit him _that_ hard...She decided to turn to the sports section, but she was saved from doing so by the door bell. She stood up and upon opening the door found herself face to face with Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and George Weasley.

"Hi guys," said Katie.

"What is this?" asked Angelina, cutting to the chase, holding up _The Prophet_.

"Um..." said Katie, "The paper?"

"Katie have you read this yet?" asked Alicia.

"I was about to."

"Oh, excellent," said George with an evil grin, "I can't wait to see your reaction. In fact, read it aloud. I'll never get tired of hearing. I'll be interested to see how much of it is true."

Katie picked up her own copy of _The Prophet_, and turned to the sports section. She cringed at the picture on the cover of the section, it showed her and Oliver shouting at each other. She cleared her throat and began with the title, "_New Quidditch Strategy Breaks Harpies Chaser's Heart_" but Katie stopped, looking up at them, "What is this?"

"Keep going," said Alicia.

"Fine: _Yesterday's Quidditch match between the Holy Head Harpies and Puddlemere United looked like it was going to be an easy win for the Harpies. This was their newest chaser, Katie Bell's, first opportunity to prove herself, and it looked as if she'd have no problem. She got off to an okay start, but about halfway through the game she was able to build her confidence and was suddenly the most skilled player on the field. Soon the Harpies were up 250-100, Bell having scored an impressive 13 out of the 25 goals. However, things turned interesting when Bell went to score her 14th goal. As she approached goal Puddlemere's keeper, Oliver Wood, who is also new this season, exclaimed, "I LOVE YOU KATIE! WILL YOU GO OUT WITH ME? YOU'RE THE ONLY WOMAN I'VE EVER LOVED!" Bell, astonished by this surprising outburst stopped in her tracks._" At this point Katie broke off, and said, "He didn't say that."

"Then what _did_ he say?" asked Angelina.

"He just said, 'Will you go out with me?', there were no 'I love you's. Look at the picture..." she held up _The Prophet_, which had a smaller picture in the middle of the article of Katie, stopping dead at Oliver's words, and the look on her face was truly embarrassing.

"Keep going," said George with another evil grin, "It gets worse."

"Okay: _At this point Harpies coach Gwenog Jones decided to intervene, and after convincing Bell to ignore Wood's advances Bell again began to approach goal. However, in an astonishing feat of seeking Puddlemere's seeker Anthony Williams was able to catch the snitch as Bell threw the quaffle. Though the quaffle made it through one of the hoops it was after the snitch had been caught, and therefore an invalid goal. After the game ended Bell dismounted and ignored Wood's attempts to get her attention. However, upon catching her in front of the Harpies' changing rooms Wood again declared his love for Bell and begged her to take him. Bell however, uncertain of Wood's motives, proceeded to call him insane and unbalanced, and flatly refused his advances, before storming out, but not without giving Wood a piece of her mind. Witnesses have said you could hear the slap as far as a quarter mile away._ YOU COULD NOT!" Katie was outraged, "This is ridiculous..._When asked to comment, Jones only stated that Wood and Bell were on first-name terms before this crucial match, and had been friendly since they had been on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team at Hogwarts, several years previously. She also stated that she is disappointed in the poor sportsmanship displayed on Wood's part. That breaches the question: Was this poor sportsmanship? We've all seen proposals on the pitch, but always after the match. Can this behavior even be considered allowed during the match? Should the referee have intervened to stop this cruelty. If Jones is to be believed, and Wood and Bell have been friendly for years, shouldn't this type of cruelty be prevented in the future. Wood clearly had a profound effect on Bell's emotional state, and_-I'm not reading this...it's just rubbish, all of it."

"Is it?" asked Alicia, "That's why we're here."

"You see Katie," said George with a smirk, "It seems to me that you and our dear friend Oliver have been seeing each other a lot lately, and one cannot help but wonder if this friendship could turn into something more..."

"No," said Katie, shaking her head, "It was his way of making sure they didn't lose the match. Now they've come out with a tie. He knew it'd shock me into stopping for at least a little while, giving Williams time to get his act together."

"You don't think he meant it?" asked Angelina.

"Of course he didn't mean it," said Katie, before turning back to George, "And how did you know we'd been hanging out?"

"Did you by any chance receive any magazines today?" asked Angelina.

"Yeah, I did, but I haven't looked at them."

"Look," said Alicia.

Katie pulled out the three magazines she'd received that morning. She first picked up _Quidditch Insider_, and flipped it over so that she could, at last, see the cover. She cringed involuntarily. It was another picture of her slapping Oliver.

"Why don't you just tell me what it says?" asked Katie, "I really don't want to read it."

"Well," said Alicia, "The woman who wrote the article apparently spent all of yesterday visiting every place you've ever been. She found out that you and Oliver have been drinks at The Three Broomsticks every Friday night for the past two months. Rosmerta was more than glad to share what she'd heard of your conversations. She also looked up your connections at Hogwarts and tried to get your friend Leanne to talk. She wouldn't, but that only made it sound worse. She says that you and Oliver were clearly on the way to being more than friends, but when Oliver used you in the match he betrayed your trust, and that Leanne's refusal to comment confirmed this theory."

"Great," said Katie sarcastically, before continuing seriously, "Well, I suppose I better talk to him."

"You think?" asked Angelina sarcastically.

"Fine," said Katie, "I'll go now."

"You might want to apparate there," said Alicia, "I wouldn't leave the apartment if I were you. People are _dying_ to get a comment from you. The reporters are right outside the building."

"Well, if you leave than so can I," said Katie.

"Okay," said George, "But behave yourself, won't you Katie?" he said with an eyebrow raise and a wink.

Katie rolled her eyes, "Goodbye George," and with a wave she nearly pushed him out the door, "Bye guys," she called to Angelina and Alicia, who followed him out without complaint.

Katie took a deep breath before pulling her wand out of her pocket and letting the darkness collapse around her as she apparated away.

**I hope you guys all liked that! This is definitely my favorite chapter so far. So, how do you think this will all turn out? Leave me a review with your thoughts.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere  
**


	4. Compromising Position

**I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say enjoy the chapter!**

Katie had only been to Oliver's flat once, so she was extremely glad she was able to remember where it was when she apparated. She arrived outside his front door feeling extremely nervous. She took three deep breaths before knocking on the door and waiting, holding her breath.

"Coming," called a familiar voice from inside, and a few seconds later she found herself face to face with Oliver Wood.

"Hi," said Oliver, taken aback. He hadn't expected to see her for a long while. He had actually been planning on going to see her later that day, when he was sure she'd had a chance to cool off.

"Hi," replied Katie.

"Um, do you wanna come in?"

"Sure," said Katie, and Oliver stood back to let her in.

"So..." said Oliver as Katie walked in, "I didn't expect-"

"I'm sorry!" broke in Katie, "I shouldn't have gotten so angry. We promised we wouldn't let Quidditch get in the way of our friendship and I stand by that. You were just trying to save the game for your team, and you did. I shouldn't have gotten so angry, and if I hadn't this probably wouldn't be all over every paper and Quidditch magazine in the country."

Oliver stared blankly at her. She still thought that he hadn't meant it...He was beginning to wonder if he should leave it like that. If she felt the same way she'd believe him, so why embarrass himself when this whole thing could disappear. However, a small voice inside his head told him that now was the time to use his Gryffindor courage, so he did. "Katie, listen to me. I didn't just ask you to go out with me because I wanted to win the game. I meant it. So, at the risk of being slapped and/or rejected a second time, let me ask again. Will you go out with me?"

It was Katie's turn to stare blankly back at Oliver. She'd been so busy trying to convince herself that he hadn't meant it that she didn't think about what she would do if he _had_...not that it really required much thinking. "Of course I will!"

"Really?" he was pretty taken aback, because he hadn't permitted himself to hope that she'd say yes.

"No, I'm kidding," said Katie sarcastically before continuing, "Of course really. I didn't think you actually meant it, or I-"

But for once Oliver got the chance to interrupt Katie. He stopped her mid-sentence with a kiss that started innocent but was turning into something else as all of their pent-up feelings for eachother bubbled over. After a minute or so of heated kissing Oliver backed Katie up against the wall without breaking kiss, and neither of them knew how far they would've gotten if Oliver's door hadn't banged open. Oliver and Katie's heads both spun around, still holding their rather compromising position of Katie with her back against the wall, her one hand on Oliver's chest, the other on his cheek, and Oliver with both of his hands against the wall, to see the flash of a camera. They broke apart immediately but it was too late, the reporter already had the shot. It was Rita Skeeter and her photographer henchman who had barged in on them, and now they had to face the wrath of two extremely angry Quidditch players.

"What are you doing here?" asked Katie.

"We knocked, but no one answered," said Rita, looking at them as if they were the best news she'd had all month.

"So you decided to break in?" asked Oliver, outraged.

"The door wasn't locked," said the photographer.

"Get out," said Oliver, pointing towards the door, "Now."

"So, Katie, does this mean you've forgiven him for his heartless actions at yesterdays match? Do you think your fans will support this decision to reward such ungentlemanly behavior?" asked Rita, ignoring Oliver's request.

"I said get out," repeated Oliver, in a cold voice that demanded obedience.

"Fine," said Skeeter, pursing her lips, before smirking, "We got what really mattered." And with that she and the photographer left the apartment, snapping the door closed. Katie immediately went over and turned the deadbolt before joining Oliver where he'd sunk down on the couch.

"That'll be all over tomorrow's paper," said Katie, leaning her head against Oliver's shoulder.

"Williams is gonna kill me," sighed Oliver, "And I don't imagine Gwenog will be too happy."

"No, she won't be, for two reasons. One: because now we're all over the press _again_, and not for what she'd consider a good reason, and two: because now I'm going out with the reason we tied our last match." Oliver chuckled. "But," continued Katie, "Why would Williams be mad? Isn't this a good thing for your team? It shows you weren't just being ruthless and heartless yesterday."

"Yeah, but having me be _Witch Weekly_'s number one bachelor suited him a lot better than having me dating a rival chaser will."

"Ugh..." sighed Katie. They elapsed into a comfortable silence, Katie with her head still on Oliver's shoulder, her eyes closed, and Oliver idly playing with the fingers on her left hand.

They sat there for about half an hour before Katie suddenly jumped up and said, "Oh my God!" glancing at her watch frantically.

"What?" asked Oliver, standing up as well.

"I've got Quidditch practice in 10 minutes! I've got to get back to my apartment and change!" And with that she apparated out of his living room.

* * *

When Katie arrived at the pitch she was exactly 1 minute early, and she quickly got on her broom, glad she was so quick at changing and that she'd brought her stuff home after yesterday's match.

"Bell," called Gwenog as the rest of the team started doing laps, "Please tell me you and Wood have sorted this nonsense out because I really can't having any more news coverage of this."

"Well," said Katie, "We've sorted it out, but there'll be some more coverage."

"Why?" asked Gwenog, looking murderous.

"Well, while we were sorting it out that cow Rita Skeeter-"

"Oh God," said Gwenog, "Let me guess, breaking and entering? _So_ like her..."

"Don't worry," said Katie, "That'll be the last of the coverage, and she only got one shot."

"That's one too many," replied Gwenog, "Well, we'll have to cope. We've got a game in a week and I want this to all be water under the bridge by then."

"It will be," promised Katie.

"Good," said Gwenog, "Now get flying!"

* * *

At the end of practice Katie walked back to the changing rooms to deal with her muddy Quidditch robes. This practice had been more brutal than usual, mostly because it rained for about half of it, and only starting letting up during the last ten minutes. Though now the rain had stopped the damage was done. Katie's robes were more brown than blue from all the mud, and her hair and face got a fair amount as well.

She was about halfway to the changing rooms, lagging behind the rest of the team, when she saw someone standing at the edge of the pitch, and she was pretty sure she had an idea as to who.

"Oliver!" she called with a wave as she walked over.

"Hey you," he said with a smirk, looking her up and down, "Did someone have issues with the rain?"

"Oh shut it," she said.

Oliver rolled his eyes before reaching up to wipe some of the mud off of her cheek. Katie leaned into his hand, and suddenly they were kissing over the barrier that separated on-pitch from off-pitch.

After a minute or so Katie broke away and said, "Wait here. I'll be back in ten minutes."

Oliver smiled and nodded before she turned around and continued towards the changing rooms. When she got inside she found the rest of the team all looking at her.

"What took so long?" asked one of her fellow chasers, Susie Robbins.

"Yeah," said the keeper, Rachel Unger, "We thought you'd died."

"Um-" said Katie, as she pulled off her robes and looked around for the jeans and shirt she'd brought, "I was just talking to someone."

The rest of the team left, having finished changing, while Katie put on her muggle cloths and magically cleaned her robes. She then turned her wand to her hair, and once that was clean made to leave the changing rooms.

When Katie got outside she found Oliver exactly where she'd left him. She walked over and gave him a light kiss before saying, "Ready to go."

"Yeah," he said with a nod, once again eying her appearance.

"What?" she asked, looking at him.

"Nothing," he said.

"No really, tell me," she said.

"Well," he said in a whisper, making it so she had to lean forward to catch what he said next, "I was just thinking about how stunning you are, covered in mud or not."

Katie leaned forward and watched with satisfaction as he did too before she hit him lightly on the face.

"What was that for?" he asked, looking slightly amused.

"Sarcasm," she replied easily, "I'd like to think I look _way_ better without mud than with."

"I never said you didn't. I just happen to think you're stunning both ways. Now, you wanna go for a drink at The Three Broomsticks? I know it's not a Friday, but we missed last night."

"Sure," said Katie with a smile, grabbing his hand as they apparated away.

* * *

They'd been at The Three Broomsticks for about 45 minutes when the door opened and in walked Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, George, and Angelina. They came over to Katie and Oliver's table when they saw them, and Katie and Oliver noticed George and Angelina whispering something to the rest of the group. All of their eyes were fixed on Oliver's hand, which had been idly playing with Katie's fingers again as they talked.

"Hey you two," said Angelina, "We didn't expect to see you here."

"And behaving, no less," said George with a smirk.

Katie rolled her eyes.

"So, you got everything sorted out?" asked Ron, while Hermione elbowed him for lack of tact.

"I don't think that's any of your business," said Katie.

"Come on, Kates," whispered Oliver, "They'll see it in the papers tomorrow..."

"See what?" asked Harry, which Ginny stamped on his foot for listening in, when in fact they'd all been doing the same thing.

"Well," said Katie brusquely, "If you _must_ know, we're dating now."

For some reason Harry, George, and Angelina were all smirking ear to ear.

"What?" asked Katie, "What is so funny about this?"

"Well," said George, "Forgive me for enlightening you, but we've all been waiting for this since Oliver's last year at Hogwarts."

"What?" asked Oliver, looking offended.

"It was obvious to all of us," said Harry, "And I'm sure Alicia would support us on this, that you guys were gonna get together. It was only a matter of time."

"It did take a lot longer than we expected though," said George, "And then we all got pretty depressed when it hadn't happened and Oliver was leaving Hogwarts."

"Well," said Oliver, "It did take a while for us to figure it out."

"And, if I'm not mistaken," said Angelina, "It took a while longer for either of you to use that Gryffindor courage we all know you've got."

"Shut it," said Katie, standing up, "We were just leaving anyway, but we'll see you later."

Oliver followed suit, standing up as well and saying, "Bye guys!"

They all bade eachother goodbye, and then Katie and Oliver left the pub.

"'We were just leaving'?" asked Oliver.

"I wasn't gonna stay there one more minute and listen to their taunting," said Katie, "_Especially_ Ron and Hermione. One because they weren't even on the team with us, so their sniggering is stupid, and two, because even if they _were_ on the team with us it took them even longer. _And_, George is so-"

But Oliver stopped her with a kiss and said, "You're adorable when your angry."

"Thank you," said Katie with a smile, "So, I'll see you later?"

Oliver nodded.

"Bye!" she said, dropping his hand and disapperating.

Oliver stood there for a moment, unable to believe his luck. How had this day turned out so perfect, when yesterday had been such a mess?

**I hope you liked how they got together! Never fear, the story is not over, because in case you've forgotten we have to deal with the press, and at some point I want to show them meeting eachother's families...so get excited!**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere  
**


	5. My SuperCrazy Quidditch Girlfriend

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while, but I had some trouble writing this one...I'm really happy with how it turned out though, so ENJOY!**

Katie and Oliver's relationship was one that caused quite a scandal in the Quidditch world. It wasn't uncommon for Quidditch stars to date, and while it always got press Oliver and Katie got more than usual. It was partly because of their on-pitch confrontation during the match, and partly because Oliver had gone from "the most eligible bachelor" to "taken," and many of his fans weren't taking it too well. They found that they couldn't go anywhere together without being pestered by reporters and flashing cameras. At first they didn't mind too much, but it was starting to get on their nerves.

"This is unbearable," muttered Oliver, tightening his grip on Katie's waist as they walked into The Three Broomsticks for their Friday night drink (a tradition they continued even after they started dating), trying to ignore the camera flash that had dazzled their eyes only moments ago.

"Just ignore it," she said as they sat down at the bar. "It's not like it really matters. They just keeping getting the same shots, so they'll stop soon enough."

"I was thinking," he said, obviously tired of talking about it, "I think it's time you met my family."

"What?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"Are you scared?" he asked with a smirk, "I promise I'll protect you."

"I'm not scared," she said, elbowing him, "But if I meet your family than you have to meet mine!" and she smirked as she saw his eyes widen.

"Fine," he said, "How about you meet mine first, since I suggested it?"

"Okay," she replied, "When?"

"How about tomorrow? It's a Saturday, so everybody will be home."

"Fine," she replied, "But that means that on Sunday you're coming to meet _my_ family."

"Fine," he said, "I'll pick you up tomorrow at noon."

* * *

The following day Oliver apparated outside Katie's apartment and knocked three times. She came out wearing a pair of nice jeans and a blue halter top the exact same shade as her eyes. Oliver just gaped, looking her up and down.

"What?" she asked, glancing down at her shirt, "No dressy? Not dressy enough?"

"No," he said, taking her hand, "It's perfect."

"Good," she said with a smile, "I might be able to fool them into thinking I'm a good person."

"Nah," he said with a laugh, "I've already warned them about my super-crazy Quidditch girlfriend."

She rolled her eyes, and began, "They do know I'm coming-" but Oliver disapperated, pulling her along with him into oblivion. They arrived in the Scottish countryside beside a gorgeous, Gothic-style castle. It wasn't horribly large for a castle, but it was still a castle.

"Oliver," said Katie slowly, "_This _is where you grew up?"

"Well, yeah," he said sheepishly, "It's not as big as it looks. It's been in the family for years."

"Who's here?" she asked, realizing that when Oliver said she should meet his family he hadn't specified if that meant his parents or every aunt, uncle, cousin, and grandparent he had.

"Just my mum and dad, my sister Lauren, her husband Michael, and their two-year-old son Nick," he replied casually.

"They have a two-year-old," said Katie, momentarily forgetting her worries. She _loved_ kids. "How cute!"

Oliver smiled, "He is. I'm afraid I spoil him rotten though."

"That's what uncles are for," she said with a smile, before she was struck with a sudden thought, "They do know I'm coming, right?"

"Well..." said Oliver evasively, but any need for reply became moot when a second story window opened and a middle-aged woman's head popped out. She was a brunette like Oliver, and resembled him in many ways. His mother, undoubtedly.

"Oliver, dear!" she called, "What are you doing standing out there. Come in and-" but she'd caught sight of Katie, "Who is _that_? Is that the Quidditch player? Katie Bell?"

Katie turned on Oliver, a glare in place, her hands on her hips, "You didn't tell them I was coming?" she asked angrily, while his mother shouted at the same time, "Why didn't you tell us she was coming?"

Katie couldn't help but smile a bit as Oliver called up to her, "It was a last-minute decision." Katie elbowed him and whispered, "You had twelve hours to send them an owl, you liar!" before turning back to the window, where Mrs. Wood was smiling.

"Well come in dears, I'm sure everyone would love to meet Katie," and with that the window snapped shut.

Oliver took Katie's hand and pulled her not to the large, wooden front door, but around the back of the house to a back door that opened into the gardens. Once through the door they found themselves in the dining room, which was right next to the impressive staircase. They left the dining room and began climbing, Katie looking around as they did so. She was surprised. The house wasn't filled with breakables that Katie would be terrified to touch, being the klutziest person alive when not on a broom. The furniture and decor was modern, but didn't clash with the old castle. It had a very homey fell in Katie's opinion, and she found herself smiling. It really was gorgeous. They reached the second floor and walked down a corridor, before entering a huge room that clearly served as the main living room for the family. It held several large couches and armchairs, as well as a grand piano, with several family portraits hanging on the wood-paneled walls.

Oliver's mother was sitting on one of the couches beside a man who was clearly Oliver's father. Katie had seen a picture of him with a young Oliver at Oliver's flat, so she'd known what to expect. He was tall, and when he was young he'd been muscular like Oliver, though not as much so, because Oliver had all the Quidditch going for him. However, Oliver's father's eyes were blue, rather than hazel. On the other couch sat a woman who looked a little bit older than Oliver, who was 22, and who had auburn hair instead of brown like the rest of her family. She had a kind face, which currently was smiling down at two-year-old Nick, an average-sized, auburn-haired child, who was angelic. The man sitting next to who Katie assumed was Lauren was clearly her husband Micheal. He was tall, though not as tall as Oliver, and an average looking brunette. Not _nearly_ as handsome as Oliver in Katie's opinion. Katie managed to observe all of this in the split-second it took for the family to register the opening of the door and the appearance of Katie and Oliver in their midst.

"Hello," said Lauren, standing up, taking a smiling Nick with her, "I'm Lauren, Oliver's sister."

"Nice to meet you," said Katie, before Oliver pulled her onto the other side of the couch his parents sat on.

"Uncle Ollie!" called Nick from his mother's arms, reaching out towards Oliver.

Lauren walked over to them and handed Nick to Oliver before returning to her seat on the other couch.

"Hey kid," said Oliver as Michael stood up and handed the toddler to Oliver, "This is Katie."

"T!" said the toddler happily, reaching a hand and pulling at Katie's hair.

"No," said Oliver, lightly taking the toddler's hand and unclenching his fingers, setting Katie's hair free, "We don't do that Nick."

"Oh how rude of me," said Oliver's mother, "I never got to introduce myself. I'm Rachel Wood, Oliver's mother, and this is my husband, Gerald Wood."

"It's very nice to meet you both," said Katie with an easy smile. She wasn't sure why, but she felt very easy with his family. They were quieter than her own, but in a good way. She had a feeling that when they spoke they always had something interesting or witty to say.

"So," said Mr. Wood, and both Oliver and Katie could tell by his tone that the interrogation was about to begin, "How long have you two known eachother."

"Well," said Katie, "We were on the Gryffindor House Quidditch team for three years together, but then lost touch."

"We met again right after the final battle," said Oliver.

"I won't even bother asking when you got together," said Rachel, "Seeing as everyone knows," Oliver groaned, while Lauren smirked.

Just as Gerald opened his mouth to speak, Nick called from Oliver's lap, "T! Nick want T!"

Katie looked startled at being addressed by the toddler, but took him from Oliver's arms.

"Well," said Michael smiling, "You've earned his approval."

Katie smiled.

The rest of the day passed amicably enough. Oliver's family was very witty, like him, but they could also be very sincere. She really liked them, and was pretty sure that they liked her. However, having met them she felt that Oliver might go into shock when meeting her family. She told him as much as they left the house.

"Why?" he asked curiously.

"Well," said Katie, "There are more of us, and we're...how do I put this...loud."

"Really?" he asked sarcastically, "I'd never have guessed that your family would be loud!"

"And I'd never have guessed that yours would be sarcastic and witty," she said with an eye-roll, "You can laugh now, but just wait and see. At least _I_ warned them you were coming tomorrow."

"I said I was sorry!"

She just rolled her eyes again, inwardly smirking at the mayhem that the next day would bring.

**I hope you liked Oliver's family, and get psyched for Katie's family next chapter. Let's just say she wasn't exaggerating...**


	6. Thirty Six

**Hey guys! This is a really long one, so get ready. Enjoy!**

Katie had warned her family that she was bringing Oliver over to the family lunch they were having that Sunday. She had to admit that she hadn't been totally honest with Oliver, because if she had been she would've told him that _all_ of her family was there for the family picnic, meaning her parents, siblings, siblings' families, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents, and she had a _big _family. They arrived hand in hand on Katie's parents' doorstep. They could hear yelling from the backyard, where the family had assembled.

"Wait," said Oliver, before Katie dragged him around the house, "Who's here?"

"Well..." said Katie evasively, "Just my mum and dad," Oliver gave a sigh which quickly turned into a groan when he realized that she was about to continue, "My three older brothers, Paul, Patrick, and Ian. Paul would've been a fifth year when you were a first, Patrick a sixth year, and Ian a seventh, so you probably never met them," Oliver gulped, that made them 25, 26, and 27, and while he was tall there were _three_ of them, "my older sister Mary Ann, who would've been a third year when you were a first, so that makes her 23, my grandmas Maggie and Louisa, my grandpas Henry and Joseph (but we call him Joe), my aunts and uncles on my mum's side, Violet and Carter, Susan and Jacob, and Zoe and David, and all of their kids, Dina, Emily, Jake, Andrew, Mallory, Bridgette, Sarah, Emmett, Gavin, and Leo, then the aunts and uncles on my dad's side, Tom and Michelle, and Dan and Caroline, and their kids Elyse, Megan, John, William, Calvin, and Sally. That's everyone."

Oliver had long since lost his ability to speak. Once he regained it he sputtered, "I take you to meet 5 people, one of which is a toddler, and you take me to meet hundreds! I don't even _know_ how many!"

"Um..." said Katie thoughtfully, and to Oliver's horror she seemed to be counting in her head, "35, I think, no, 36..." Oliver stared blankly at her, so she said quickly, "But don't worry. Because there are so many and it's a family lunch not a lot of people will notice you." Oliver raised his eyebrow skeptically.

"Are your cousins older than you or younger than you?" he asked carefully.

She rolled her eyes, "Don't be such a worry-wort. They're all younger than me, so you've just got to deal with three scary brothers, and I told them to be on their best behavior."

"You can laugh all you want," he said, "But when they give you back my ashes in a box you won't be laughing any more."

She merely rolled her eyes again, and proceeded to drag him to the back yard. They turned the corner of the house and Oliver's jaw dropped. He realized why Katie had mentioned earlier that they needed to use her parents house cause it had about 13 acres of land with no close neighbors. Not only was the farm house big enough to hold 36 people somewhat comfortably, but the commotion in the backyard was so great that muggles would surely suffer from heart failure if they saw it. There were a number of kids, maybe age 9 to 14 on brooms playing a Quidditch game, and below them the younger children were playing some sort of tag that involved screaming and dieing theatrically when touched. Several of the adult men and women were waving their wands over outdoor grills, while the others stood around talking in loud voices, and all of the adults were holding some type of alcoholic beverage. There were people shouting and whispering and screaming and dancing and between the 36 of them they were making what seemed like more noise than the Quidditch World Cup audience. All of them were wearing tee-shirts and shorts, despite the cold November weather, and Oliver realized after stepping into the backyard that there had been some sort of charm placed on it, making the entire area a comfortable 70. He wondered idly what they did when it snowed.

"Hey guys!" called Katie to the group of adults first, and they all turned.

"Katie!" shouted a man who looked to be in his fifties. He had his wand out and was waving it at some burgers on the grill, "How's my little girl?"

"Hi Daddy," Katie replied, hugging him, before turning to the woman beside him, who looked to be in her fifties as well, "Hi Mum," After hugging her mother Katie turned and gestured to Oliver and said, "This is my boyfriend, Oliver. I told you I was bringing him, remember?"

"Lovely to meet you," said Katie's mother.

"KATIE-KATE!" shouted a tall, hulking mass of muscle that Oliver knew immediately must be her brother. He was blond with blue eyes like her, but was at least 6 foot 4 inches, which made Katie's 5 foot 7 inches look short, and Oliver's 6 foot 2 inches look average at best. He walked over to Katie and swung her around in the air.

He set her down, both of them laughing as she said, "Oliver this is my brother Ian. Ian, this is-"

But Ian interrupted her, and looking at her family Oliver could see that Katie had become such an interrupter because otherwise she'd never get a word in edgewise, "Yeah, yeah, I know Oliver. It's not like we all haven't seen the tabloids Katie-Kate," he extended a hand, "Nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," said Oliver, taking the hand and giving a firm shake to match Ian's. Feeling this Ian said, "I like him. He's got a good handshake, not bad looking, and sure as hell can play Quidditch."

"Thanks," said Oliver, not exactly sure what to say, while Katie smirked smugly.

"Was that Baby-Katie I heard?" asked a booming voice as another blond-haired, blue-eyed man appeared, having separated himself from the throng of people around the grills. This man wasn't as tall as Ian, but was about the same height as Oliver, and not nearly as intimidating as Ian had been.

"Hey Paul," said Katie, "This is-"

"Oliver?" interrupted Paul, "At last. We were wondering if we'd _ever_ meet him!"

"I told Mum and Dad he was coming, and we've only been dating three months," said Katie, hugging Paul, "It's good to see you."

"Good to see you too, little sis," he replied, before turning to Oliver and saying, "And nice to meet you." Oliver gave a nod and a smile.

"Why did no one tell me Katie was here with Oliver?" asked another voice, a woman's this time, but she was followed by another man. Katie's sister and last brother, Oliver assumed.

"Mary Ann, Patrick, this is Oliver. Oliver, Mary Ann, Patrick," said Katie gesturing to each person as she introduced them. Mary Ann didn't look at all like Katie. She was a brunette, a bit shorter, with totally different facial features. The only thing they had in common was that Mary Ann, like Katie, had electric blue eyes, different from Paul and Ian, who's eyes were a sea-water blue. Patrick was a brunette as well, with sea-water eyes to match his brothers. He was about the same height as Patrick and just as bulky as Ian.

"Well," said Ian, "Now that Patrick and Paul are both here," he turned to Oliver, "We'd like to have a word with you, if that's alright," his tone made it clear that it wasn't really a request.

"Guys," said Katie pleadingly, "Please not now, or" she acted as if she'd been struck with a sudden inspiration, "Not ever! Doesn't that sound great?"

"Nah," said Patrick with a grin, "Now sounds good. We've just got to have a quick word with Oliver, so why don't you run off with Mary Ann. We'll just go into the house for a minute."

Katie gave Oliver an apologetic look as he was pushed/dragged into the house. The three men led Oliver into the kitchen where they stood, Oliver with his back against the counter, and Katie's brothers standing around him.

"Listen," said Ian, who seemed to be leading the interrogation, "You seem like a really good guy, but so did Mary Ann's last boyfriend, and we ended up having to teach him a hard lesson, so if I were you I'd listen up."

"Katie's our baby sister and we're _very_ protective," said Patrick, "And if you don't treat her right, if you-"

"Listen," said Oliver, interrupting him, "I would _never_-"

"No," said Paul, "_You_ listen. We said you seemed like a decent bloke, and you do, but if you hurt her...let's just say, it's hard to be friends with the guy dating your baby sister, and we like to put in the effort, but if you give us a reason _not _to..."

"We'll stop," finished Ian, "and you _want_ to be our friend, believe me."

"So," said Patrick, "Do we understand one another?" Oliver nodded.

"Oh," said Paul, "And one more thing, don't think we've overlooked the fact that you're three years older than her, and based on that first photo that came out," Oliver blushed, "You're moving pretty fast. So just remember what we've said, and also remember this, out there in the yard there are another 5 uncles, 2 grandfathers, and a father, plus another 5 aunts, 2 grandmothers, a mother, and a sister, all of whom are capable of teaching you a lesson if necessary, and none of whom are afraid to do so."

"And neither are we," said Ian, before smiling, "But enough of that. Come on, before the rest of the family eats all the burgers." Oliver was surprised at how quickly their tone turned casual, but was glad the intimidation was over.

As they were about to leave Katie walked in and said, "Why don't you guys go ahead? I wanna show Oliver the house, maybe do some damage control," but she was smiling fondly at them as they left. Even though it irritated her that they felt the need to do this, she also remembered what happened to Mary Ann, and she knew that they were trying to protect her because they loved her.

"How bad were they?" she asked as they left the kitchen.

"Not too bad," he said with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders as she showed him the living room and dining room.

"I _would_ believe that," she said, pulling him up the stairs, "Except for the look that was on your face as I came in. Oliver elbowed her. "This is my old room," she said, opening a door at the end of the corridor on the second floor, having turned right after coming up stairs. Katie's room wasn't big, but it wasn't small either. The wall opposite the door and the wall to the right of the door had windows that faced the back yard, but with a flick of her wand Katie closed the shades, which were neon green. She'd pained the wall across from the door an aqua blue, while all of the other walls were the same neon green as the curtains. There were photographs everywhere. In frames, all over the walls, under the glass on the desk...everywhere. He knew several of the moving people, including Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Angelina, Alicia, Leanne (and all of Katie's other friends that were her age), and people he recognized as belonging to Katie's family. He also saw many photos that included himself and Katie.

Katie sat on the bed, which had a green and blue patchwork quilt, and Oliver joined her, surveying the room. The furniture was modern, and she had several bean-bag chairs. "What do you think?" she asked.

"It's _so_ you," he said with a grin.

"What about it's _so_ me?" she asked.

"Well," he said, leaning forward, "It's bubbly," he kissed her lightly, "And fun," another kiss, "And flirty," another kiss, "And out there," yet one more kiss, "And friendly,"

"Are you sure that's just the room you're talking about?" she asked with a smirk.

"Nope," he said, popping his 'p', "I'm talking about you now." She laughed. "Oh," he added, leaning against the headboard and pulling her into his chest, so that she leaned against him, "By the way, I see where you get the interrupting thing from."

"No kidding," she said with a laugh.

They sat in silence for a moment before Oliver asked, "If you don't mind me asking...What happened to Marry Ann?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, unsure of how much Oliver knew.

"Well, when your brothers were talking to me-"

"More like threatening," Katie muttered.

"Well, whatever," he said, eager to ask his question, "They mentioned something about Mary Ann's last boyfriend and how they had to teach him a lesson...What happened?"

"Well," said Katie, "At least now you'll get why they're so protective...well, they were pretty protective _before _this, but now they're even more so, if that's possible. Two years ago Mary Ann brought a guy to family lunch one Sunday (we have them once every month or so). His name was Jay, and he seemed like a really nice guy. He was smart and funny and everyone liked him. He and Mary Ann went out for a year and a half, and all of us were sure that he was the one...but then, one Sunday about five months ago, right after the final battle, they came over for the lunch and Jay lost his temper. It was over something really stupid, but no one had ever seen him so angry. He slashed her with his wand, and made a deep cut across her face. Of course, after they saw that my brothers and I flipped. I cleaned up Mary Ann, and convinced her to tell me the whole story. Mary Ann's not like me or my brothers. All of us interrupt eachother and are loud and have no issue voicing our opinions, but Mary Ann's the quiet one. She likes to fade into the background where no one notices her and she's more comfortable. She told me that Jay had been doing similar things for the past 8 months, and she showed me a scar on her arm that wouldn't ever go away, because he used a spell she was unfamiliar with and couldn't heal. My brothers...dealt with Jay, and he never came back, but after that they've been more careful about me. Mary Ann hasn't dated anyone since then, but they've been asking to meet you for the past three months, since they saw Rita's photo."

Oliver's mouth was hanging open. Everything about that story made him sick to his stomach. He tried to say something, but nothing came to mind, so he closed his mouth with a sigh.

"They're probably wondering where we are," Katie whispered, sitting up and turning around to face him for the fist time.

"Probably," he replied, glad his voice sounded normal. They stood up and walked towards the door, but as Katie's hand closed on the handle he grabbed her other wrist, making her turn around to look at him.

"Katie, I would _never_," but, _As usual_ he thought was a smile, she interrupted him.

Putting a finger to his lips to stop him from speaking she said, "I know that. She gave him a light kiss, before adding, "But they don't yet," her manner turned joking rather suddenly, "But, they're not _too_ worried, especially after they saw that slap in the paper." They both laughed as Katie took Oliver's hand and led the way downstairs.

**I hope you all enjoyed reading that as much as I enjoyed writing it! I had so much fun with this chapter, so drop me a review and tell me if you liked it.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere  
**


	7. Quidditch and Spaghetti

**HEY GUYS! I know it took a while but I REALLY like this chapter, so I hope the wait was worth it! I'm having a hard time writing new chapters because no one ever reviews, so I have no idea if anyone's even reading this! Anyways...enough with that. Enjoy the chapter!**

Katie and Oliver arrived at Oliver's apartment from Katie's parent's house at about eight that evening, and they both slumped onto the couch.

"I suppose I wasn't very fair," said Katie, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Meaning?" asked Oliver, looking over at her.

"Well," she explained, "I didn't exactly warn you about what was coming, did I? You must like me an awful lot to have put up with _that_."

"Of course I do, I love you," said Oliver automatically, making Katie sit bolt up right. Oliver wanted to smack his head into a wall...he'd been trying to find a way to tell her for the past couple days, but _that_ was certainly not how he'd been planning on doing it.

"You sure you mean that?" asked Katie, her eyes wide.

"Of course I'm sure," Oliver mumbled, cursing his own stupidity, and looking at anyone but Katie.

"Well good," said Katie, her mood turning light as she leaned back into the couch, "Cause I love you too."

Oliver almost laughed at the casual way that she handled the situation...it was so _Katie_. And that was why he loved her.

* * *

Katie and Oliver spent the next nine months enjoying their relationship as it came, but not forcing anything. On their one year anniversary they decided to move in together in Oliver's apartment, which was bigger, but they kept Katie's apartment for renters, rather than selling it. One evening shortly after Katie moved in they received a rather unexpected visit.

They'd been sitting on the couch, Oliver on Katie's left as she read a book and he played idly with the fingers on her left hand, contemplating them and their ring-less state. He knew that he wanted to marry Katie. That wasn't the question. She was everything that he'd ever wanted and he knew he'd never want or need anything else, so it wasn't a question of 'if,' it was a question of 'when.' They had another Quidditch match against each other very soon, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. The Quidditch season went from March to October every year, and the previous year they'd played eachother in September, however this year their game was scheduled in October, which made him nervous, because it was one of the last games of the season for both teams, so tension would be running high. If their relationship made it through that game it'd be a miracle...well, he didn't _really_ believe that, but he knew it had the potential to be unpleasant. He had just come to the conclusion to think more about marriage _after_ the game when there was a firm knock on the front door.

"I wonder who that is," said Katie in mild interest, setting down her book and standing up. They'd been very careful in the charms they'd put on the apartment, so it was impossible for anyone but them to apparate directly in, and they couldn't do it accompanied by anyone, so if someone grabbed hold of them they wouldn't get in, they'd just get to the front door.

Oliver stood up to as Katie walked towards the door, because another, more forceful knock sounded.

"Oi! Katie! Oliver! We know you're in there!" came a familiar voice from the other side of the door, "Let us in!"

"Ugh," Katie said with an eye-roll as she opened the door to reveal her brothers, Paul, Patrick, and Ian.

"About time," said Ian as they waltzed in and sat down on the couch, looking totally at ease.

"What are you doing here?" asked Katie as she observed her three, tall, burly brothers try to squeeze onto their couch.

"We just came to invite you two to a Sunday lunch on October 2nd," said Paul.

"The day after your big game," added Patrick with a smirk, "Just in case you forgot..."

"We didn't, thanks," said Oliver, sitting in an arm chair. He'd gotten more used to Katie's brothers over the past nine months, and now could deal with their presence quite easily.

"And I suppose an owl wouldn't have sufficed," said Katie.

"You know us," said Paul, smirking, "We _love_ being the bearers of ill-I mean good tidings."

Katie merely rolled her eyes at his antics.

"Nice place," said Ian casually, glancing around. Katie had managed to inject her personal style into the house, and it was visible everywhere, though Oliver's came out in more subtle ways.

"Thanks," said Oliver and Katie at the same time, before glancing at eachother in surprise.

"So," said Patrick, "What's for diner?"

"Excuse me?" asked Katie incredulously, "Did you just invite yourselves to diner?"

"So it would seem," said Ian, "And we're starving."

Katie rolled her eyes, it was _so_ like them, "I'm making spaghetti."

"Excellent," said Paul in satisfaction, leaning back.

As Katie made diner, Ian, Paul, Patrick, and Oliver all discussed the Quidditch season in the living room, and some time during that conversation Ian went into the kitchen on the pretext of getting some butterbeers, and sat on the counter next to the stove, watching Katie work.

"So," he said, but Katie interrupted him.

"Here it comes," she said, "I _knew_ it would, you know."

"Why does that not surprise me?" he said with a smile, "So do I really need to ask?"

"No," she said, "You don't. You know me, and you know I won't take crap from anyone, so why don't you guys lighten up? Oliver _is_ a good guy, and I'm _happy_."

"Yeah, but-" said Ian.

"No buts," said Katie. She wasn't angry, but she waned to get the message across to her brothers one and for all, "If he _ever_ does something you'll be the first to know, after I kill him, that is, but you don't have to worry about it other than that. Don't you like him?"

"Sure we do," he said, looking mildly insulted, "I like him a hell of a lot, considering he's dating my baby sister. But I just wanted to make sure that-"

"Well you've made sure, so please drop it," said Katie with calm finality.

"Fair enough," he replied, grabbing some butterbeers from the fridge and heading back into the living room.

Katie couldn't help but roll her eyes as she turned them back to the sauce she was stirring. She loved her brothers, but they were something...

* * *

The morning of their Quidditch match, a Saturday, was a cloudy one with high winds. Katie and Oliver both woke up and got ready in near silence, unwilling to see the two very different uniforms that they were wearing. As they got ready to disapperate Katie broke the silence.

"No surprises?" she checked.

"No surprises," he affirmed, "Just like any other game."

"Yeah," she said, more to herself, before kissing him lightly and saying, "I'll see you after, okay?"

"Yeah," he said, "Love you."

"Love you more," she replied, before disapperating with a loud _crack_.

When they arrived at the pitch they went to their respective changing rooms and got ready, listened to their coaches' pep talks, and filed out onto the field with their teams, Katie in blue and Oliver in red. They looked at each other from opposite sides of the field as they got ready to mount their brooms, but only briefly, and they took off, soaring into the air, trying not to listen to the commentator, who was having a field day.

"And it's Bell of the Harpies with the quaffle as she soars up the pitch. Now she and Wood, Puddlemere's keeper, having been dating for over a year now, but this is the first time they've faced each other on the pitch since they became a couple. Can Bell score? Will Wood let the goal in on purpose, or will Bell just never make an attempt? Now, we all remember what happened the last time they played against each other, but I gather their coaches would rather see a better game but-Wait! Bell passes to Robbins who shoots and-Wood saves it! And Becket of Puddlemere has the quaffle!"

The game went on progressing rather slowly, and both Katie and Oliver played brilliantly. Katie managed to score some impressive goals, but Oliver also saved some that any other keeper would've missed. In the end, it really came down to which seeker was the best, and this game it happened to be The Holy Head Harpies.

When they met eachother outside of the changing rooms after they'd got out of their robes Oliver gave Katie a kiss, told her she flew brilliantly, she told him he was equally brilliant, and they went home. No more drama to speak of, and as Oliver lay in bed that night, mulling over the idea of a wedding and deciding that if they were mature enough to compete with eachother so directly they were surely mature enough to get married...

Now the only real question left was how to face her brothers...

**I know that the wait you had to endure to get this chapter was completely unacceptable, and I understand why many of you probably just gave up, but if you didn't PLEASE review, because I need to know that _someone_ out there is still listening. This story kind of fell to the back burner as I worked on finishing up a HUGE three-story series that I've been working on now for over a year, and as the last story, "The Extremely Eventful Life of James Sirius Potter" came to a close it became my number one priority. Now that I've only got two stories to focus on, this and one about Teddy Lupin and Victoire Weasley (PLEASE GO CHECK THAT OUT, it's called "Never in a Million Years") I _promise_ updates will come faster. If you made it through this ridiculously long apology disguised as an author's note tell me in your review and you'll get virtual chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and hot fudge.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere  
**


	8. Following Impulses

**I'm pretty happy with this chapter, but I don't want to give anything away, so all I'll say is: Enjoy!**

When Oliver awoke to Katie saying impatiently, "Oh get _up_," and shaking him the next morning he forgot momentarily why he had to be up.

"Oliver!" she said impatiently, "It's nine in the morning, and we've got to be there at eleven! Get your lazy ass out of bed!"

"Katie," he said groggily, rolling over and attempting to slip back into unconsciousness, "The game was _yesterday_, get back in bed."

"Not the game you idiot!" she said, pulling the blankets off the bed, "Lunch with my family!"

"Ugh," he sat up, rubbing his eyes, "I forgot about that..."

"I can tell," she said, rolling her eyes, "I'm going to go take a shower, but you better be ready to move when I get out!"

"Ugh!" was the only sound that came from him as he pulled the blankets back up over his head.

* * *

When they arrived for the barbecue, most of the family was already there. As usual, the entire back yard had been charmed to make it summer, and already most of the younger kids were running around while the elder ones played Quidditch above everyone's heads. Though Oliver had at first been stunned by the scene, he was now quite used to it.

"Oliver! Katie!" came the booming voice of Ian, who pulled Katie up into a hug and shook Oliver's hand.

"We listened the game on the radio," said Patrick, coming up behind Ian, "Bad luck, mate," he clapped Oliver on the back before hugging Katie and saying, "Fabulous job, Katie-Kate, as always."

Katie grinned as her sister Mary Ann rounded the corner and said, "Katie! Come here! You'll never guess what happened to my friend Anabel!"

As Katie was whisked away Oliver hung around with Ian, Patrick, and Paul, who soon arrived. Though they still intimidated him from time to time, he was now rather fond of them.

"So, does that mean you lot are out for the season?" asked Paul as they wandered over to the butterbeers.

"Fraid so..." said Oliver, taking a large gulp.

"Well," said Patrick bracingly, "That means next year you'll beat her!" Oliver raised his eyebrow, so Patrick continued, "You'll have had so much more time to train."

Oliver rolled his eyes, "What a comfort."

Later in the evening, Oliver and Katie were both sitting on the deck talking to Katie's mother and father, Oliver with his arm around Katie, her head leaning on his shoulder.

Ian watched from where he stood with Paul and Patrick, all three of them clutching butterbeers and observing the couple carefully.

"What do you reckon?" asked Paul, watching as Katie took a drink from Oliver's butterbeer.

"Meaning?" asked Ian, turning to look at Paul.

"Well, do you think they've got a shot?" Paul elaborated.

"I do," Patrick spoke up, turning to face the other two, "I honestly think he's it for her." He turned to Ian, "I knew Karen was the one for you, and I know that he's it for Katie."

Ian rolled his eyes, "_Sure_ you did."

"No! I did!" Patrick defended himself, elbowing Ian, "The only question left in my mind is when he'll get the guts to propose."

"There's no way he'll propose anytime soon," said Paul dismissively, "They've only been dating a year!"

"He's got a point," said Ian, "I mean, Karen and I only dated a year and a half before we got married." He smiled fondly at his wife, a petite brunette who was chatting with Mary Ann a little ways away.

"Dunno," said Paul, "Are they really _ready_?"

Patrick was about to reply when an awfully familiar voice sounded from behind them, "Is who really ready for what?"

Katie had left her parents and Oliver to get a butterbeer of her own, after many grumblings from Oliver for her stealing his, while they were talking amongst themselves, and had overheard the last part of their conversation.

"Nobody," said Paul, the first to recover, "Nobody's ready for _anything_." He sent a pointed look at Patrick.

Katie raised her eyebrows. She knew that they were talking about something that they didn't want her to know about, but she couldn't think of anything it could possibly be.

"Whatever," was all she said before grabbing a butterbeer and heading back over to her parents and Oliver.

All three sighed before Patrick said, glancing over at Oliver, "All the same, I give him a month."

* * *

Oliver Wood was a planner. He always had a plan. For everything. He wasn't one to act impulsively, he always thought things through, and he _never_ acted without thinking. Well, almost never. Katie was the only exception, just as she was the exception to so many of his other now-broken rules. When he asked her out he hadn't thought, he just _did_. When he told her he loved her he hadn't thought, he just _said_. And, two weeks after the Quidditch match, when he was at Katie's parents' house for another one of her family events, he didn't think about asking her to marry him. He just _did_.

They had found a quiet moment together amidst the throng of Katie's family members, who were all laughing and joking, and she was laughing at some witty comment he had made, and the sun was reflecting off of her golden hair, and her bright blue eyes were bubbling with mirth, and he just said it.

"Marry me."

"What?" she asked, the edges of a smile still on her face from when she had laughed, her eyebrow's raised incredulously.

"Marry me," he repeated, "I am never going to love anyone else but you, and I hope you're never going to love anyone but me, so let's get married."

He reached into his pocket and dug out a ring box. When his grandmother had died of dragonpox not two months previously, his mother and father had given him her engagement ring with secretive smiles, and he instantly knew when he saw it that it was perfect for Katie. It was a yellow gold band with a tear-drop shaped sapphire, which had two smaller diamonds on either side framing it.

He opened the box and saw, to his immense satisfaction, her eyes widen taking in the ring, which he had conveniently 'forgot' to tell her he'd received.

"If you want I'll even make a big production of kneeling down in front of every one of your crazy relatives, but please," he looked right into her eyes, and she met his gaze unflinchingly. He spoke the last two words in little more than a whisper. "Marry me."

She kissed him. She was beaming as she pulled away and said, "Of course I will!"

Before he knew what he was doing he swung her off of her feet and twirled her around in the air as she laughed. As he set her down she continued, "Even if you didn't ask properly."

"Didn't ask properly?" he said, eyebrows raised.

"Well, you didn't really _ask_ at all," she said with a grin. She stopped his retort with a kiss and said, "Now, am I going to have to put on this ring myself?"

He grinned and slid the ring onto the third finger of her left hand.

By now, of course, most of her family had noticed what was happening, including Paul, Patrick, and Ian. The latter two were both beaming, and though Paul was happy for his sister as well, he was also a little irritated that he'd been wrong, and could tell from the smug look on Patrick's face that he would _never_ hear the end of it.

Katie's mother was tearing up as was Mary Ann, her father was grinning, and Oliver could've sworn he'd saw gold exchange hands between two of her uncles as the family crowded around them.

"You should be very proud," said Patrick, clapping Oliver on the back, "You're the first one to get through the crazy families and _us_," he gestured to Paul who was beside him and Ian, who had picked Katie up off the ground.

Oliver shrugged nonchalantly, but grinned. Having her brother's approval after what had happened to Marry Ann meant more than he could ever say, but he knew they understood.

The rest of the evening past in a haze of congratulations and toasts, and when it was time for he and Katie to head home they had a full ten-minute send off as everyone rushed to congratulate them again. However, it didn't escape either of their deliriously happy minds that they still had one more hurdle to jump before they could actually get married: they had to tell Oliver's family.

**I hope everyone liked the proposal. I'm really starting to love writing Paul, Patrick, and Ian, and I try to fit them in every chapter, and even if I don't plan on it they tend to find their way in anyway because I have so much fun writing them, so I really hope they're as entertaining to you guys as they are to me. I'm expecting a nice long review from all of you (like my not-so-subtle hint?) to tell me your thoughts. This story isn't going to go much further past the wedding, so I guess you could call this the beginning of the end. Still, we've got a few chapters to go before wedded bliss, and another couple after that, so don't get too worried yet.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere  
**


	9. That's That

**Well...I know it's been over a year, but if anyone is still reading this...Hi. I got inspired all of a sudden after a long time to write this chapter. I plan on continuing with the story, but don't be surprised if updates are pretty thin on the ground. If you're watching your alerts though, you'll see this pop up now and again hopefully. It feels good to be writing again. Enjoy:**

When they arrived at the great manor Katie glanced around briefly to take in the familiar, yet still breath-taking surroundings.

Thinking of this she said, "You know what? We should have the wedding here!"

"Here?" he asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow, "Isn't it sort of tradition that the wedding is hosted by the bride's parents? I'm not complaining or anything, but why would you want it here?"

"It's so beautiful," she said, her voice full of wonder as she glanced around the extensive grounds and towards the beautiful house that was really a small castle. "It'd be the perfect place. We could have it outdoors. No matter what the season the grounds here are spectacular."

"Alright," he said as they walked, not to the great wooden front doors, but instead to the kitchen door that had been used for servants when the castle was first built. Now the family used it all the time because it was less of a hassle to open and close.

As they walked into the kitchen they saw the two house elves bustling around the room, fixing dinner.

"Hi Nelly, Dory," Oliver said with a nod and smile as they passed.

"Hello Master Oliver, Miss Katie," said the older of the two elves, nodding at them. She was middle aged or maybe on the slightly older side, but not at all decrepit.

"How was your trip?" asked Oliver. Katie raised her eyebrows, but before she could ask, the younger of the two, who looked in her teenage elf-years, answered.

"Thank you, master," she said in her squeaky little voice, "Dory enjoyed the trip very much, oh yes, very much! But after such a long trip Dory does not think Dory will need another trip for a long time. Oh no, Dory does not!"

The older elf, Nelly, then squeaked, "Nelly quite agrees with Dory. Nelly likes vacation, but she likes working even more, Sir."

Oliver smiled, leading Katie out and into the small servants hall the joined the kitchen and dining room, the only way out of the kitchen. As they walked through the dinning room and into the grand hall Katie asked, "Trip?"

"Mum finally convinced them to take a vacation," Oliver explained as they walked past the great front door and headed up the main staircase. "It took her months and months to talk them into it. Dory cracked first, as she's never been away from here. Nelly was already working for us when she had Dory, so Dory's never been out of this part of the country. They went for four days to the coast, but swore they couldn't stay away any longer."

They both chuckled at the peculiar mannerisms of house elves as they ascended the stairs. When they reached the first landing, they walked down the hall and into the family's informal sitting room. They stopped at the door and took a deep breath. All they'd told Oliver's family was that they were coming over that day for lunch because they hadn't seen them in a few weeks, and they hoped that Lauren would be there with Michael and Nick as well. Of course, they knew that Oliver's family probably had some idea of what they were going to tell them, but they were still a little nervous.

"Well, come on," Oliver said when he saw that Katie looked hesitant. "I promise they won't bite. If I could survive your entire family, including your brothers, surly you can survive the five people in there. Especially considering that one of them wants to marry you himself." He smirked, thinking of his nephew, Nick, who had taken quite a fancy to Katie over the last year.

"Alright then," Katie said, strengthened by the thought of the adoring three-year-old awaiting her inside. She pushed the door open.

Lauren and Micheal were sitting on one couch while Gerald and Rachel sat on another. Nice, who had been sitting on the floor, rushed for the door upon seeing them, shouting "T!"

"Hello there!" Katie beamed, sweeping Nick up into a hug. Oliver smiled before greeting the rest of the family with a cheery "Hello!"

"Hi there," Katie said over Nick's head before turning to the little boy. "How have you been?"

"Good," Nick answered, before turning his head to Oliver. "Uncle Ollie!"

Katie passed Nick to Oliver as Oliver said, "Oh, _now_ you want to see me, do you? Is Katie your favorite?"

Nick blushed and shook his head, while all of the adults in the room smiled at him. Oliver set Nick down and he ran over to his mother, still red in the face, and hid in her lap. Katie and Oliver sat down on the couch with Oliver's parents.

"Well then," Rachel said, looking at Oliver and then at Katie. "What was it you wanted to visit about? In your note you said you had some news..." She trailed off significantly.

"We do," Oliver said. "As it happens, Katie and I-"

"We're getting married!" Katie interrupted, unable to contain her excitement. Though she had been a bit nervous that Oliver's family would think they were moving too fast, seeing Nick had given her some confidence. All of them liked her and she was incredibly fond of them, so she couldn't see any reason not to share the news, news that was some of the happiest she'd ever shared in her entire life.

She held out her hand to show the family the ring, only to find Oliver's mother and sister smirking. "What is it?" she asked.

"Didn't he tell you?" Lauren asked. "When our grandmother died in July she left behind this ring. It was her engagement ring. We gave it to Oliver rather hoping he'd use it..."

Katie turned to Oliver and said, "You never told me your grandmother left you a ring!"

"No need to be accusatory," he smiled. "I happened to have a plan for it, in case you hadn't noticed. Also, _she_ didn't leave it to me, my meddling mother and sister gave it to me."

"Guilty as charged," Rachel smiled.

"Well, I'm not complaining," Katie laughed, glancing down at the ring. Though she'd only been wearing it a few days, the weight already felt natural on her hand. She had a feeling that if she took it off now, her finger would feel almost naked.

They spent the rest of the afternoon in a flurry of wedding discussions that were too preliminary to be called plans. When Katie and Oliver mentioned that they hoped to have the wedding at the manor, the entire family immediately praised the idea.

"We'd be happy to host it!" Rachel said.

"We could set up a big white tent in the back," Lauren added, excitedly. "What time of year were you thinking?"

"We're not sure," Oliver said.

"Well," said Lauren. "You'll have to pick a time when the gardens look their best. And, of course, we'll have to think of the guest list, and the dress, and the catering, oh, and we'll have to meet Katie's family!"

"Oh yes!" Gerald said. "We've already heard about them, of course, but we'd love to meet them!"

Katie and Oliver looked at each other before Katie said, "That would be lovely. My family is, of course, much...bigger than yours. Louder too, I'm afraid. I suppose that's where my interrupting comes from. I'll owl them and see when they want to meet."

"Of course," Rachel said. "It doesn't have to be immediate, but definitely soon."

* * *

When Katie and Oliver arrived back at the flat that evening, they both sat on the couch and Oliver immediately picked up Katie's left hand and began playing with her fingers, as he always did.

"That went quite well," Katie said.

"See," Oliver replied, nudging her playfully. "I told you it'd be fine. They love you."

"Well, I would've felt better if I'd known they'd given you the ring..."

"Can't a many have any secrets?"

"Not from his fiancee he can't."

They both smiled at her used of the word 'fiancee.' It was still all so new. They both felt it was still a bit unreal; too good to be true.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Katie said, "Your family won't have to meet my _entire _family, surely. Just my parents, my brothers, and my sister. Oh, and Karen, obviously. It's strange, Ian gets married first, which is only right since he's the oldest, but then me next, and I'm the youngest. I'm surprised no one has said we're too young, in fact. Of course, _I_ don't think we are, but at 19 and 22 we are a little ahead when it comes to the marriage thing. I mean, obviously we won't have kids right at first but, still..."

Oliver smiled, remembering how well Katie was with Nick. "No," he said. "Definitely no kids immediately. But someday..."

"Yes," Katie smiled too, kissing him gently. "Someday."

After a few more minutes of silence Katie said, "Ugh. Now, we have to tell Gwenog and Anthony, I suppose."

"Why?" Oliver asked. "I don't see why it's any of our team captains' business that we're getting married."

"It is though. Because eventually it will get out to the press and they deserve to have time to prepare, should it be a big deal. Ideally, we should get married before we have to play each other next season, that way it'll all have blown over by our next match against each other."

"That works. We normally play each other at the end of the season, so at least we don't have to get married in winter."

"Speaking of timing, what do you think about May? The gardens at the manor are in full bloom and absolutely stunning."

Oliver smiled, "Won't matter. No one will be looking at the "stunning" gardens. They'll all be too busy looking at the radiant bride."

"Oh stop it!" Katie elbowed him, but was smiling nonetheless. "You're being ridiculous."

"I'm serious," Oliver protested. "That's exactly what you always are: radiant."

* * *

The next few weeks passed in a blur as Katie and Oliver told everyone their news. They had decided on a May wedding, and after finding out when the master of ceremonies, who presided over weddings and funerals, was available, decided on May 23 as the date. That only gave them 7 months to plan, which wasn't as much time as Katie would have liked, so they launched themselves into preparations, picking the caterer, ordering the tent, and drawing up a guest list.

One Thursday evening in November, Katie arrived home from practice a little after Oliver and was surprised to find that he was not alone in the flat. When she apparated in, four or five reporters, including Rita Skeeter, were surrounding him, firing questions at him as he attempted to get them outside.

"What's going on?" Katie asked once she had grasped what was happening.

"They rang the bell and swarmed in when I answered the door before I could get it shut!" Oliver said, helplessly.

"Why are you here?" Katie asked the reporters. They hadn't been giving Oliver and Katie as much trouble as usual. Since they were essentially a boring celebrity couple, with no major fights or drama, the reporters had lost interest after the first few months, so she was surprised that they were here now but knew there could really only be one reason: they'd found out about the wedding.

"You two were seen at a caterer's last week tasting wedding cakes. Is it true we're to hear wedding bells in May? Why the rush?" one reporter asked while another said, "Aren't you a bit young? Any particular reason for the rushed engagement? Perhaps a little Quiddich star in the making?" "Is it true, Katie, that you're due in August and that's why the wedding is so rushed?" another demanded.

Katie gaped at Oliver, who gaped right back. "Out," he said sternly to the reporters. "Out! Out!"

Katie opened the door as Oliver started herding them back. They resisted quite a bit, and eventually Oliver had to resort to threats. "You are on private property! Either leave, or I will be forced to contact the Magical Law Enforcement Squad. Is that clear?"

The reporters seemed to realize that Oliver was not making idle threats, and left grudgingly. Once Oliver got the door shut he turned to Katie and said, "They arrived about 10 seconds before you did. That was a mess."

"No kidding," Katie said with a weak chuckle, sinking down onto the couch. Oliver sat down beside her and took her left hand.

They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes before Katie said, "I suppose we should've known that's what people would think...I'm surprised no one has asked us already."

Oliver glared. "Is it impossible that two people could just love each other and want to get married at the ages of 19 and 22 without there being a pregnancy scandal involved?"

"Apparently not," Katie answered. "I'm sure they'll find a way to spin it into a headline though. It's good we told Williams and Gwenog though. That way if the reporters approach them, and you know they will, they can deny it."

"Yeah," Oliver said. He paused for a moment before continuing, "Are you sure you want this now? I mean, you're the one who everyone will be talking about and judging. Are you sure you want to face all that? We can always wait another year or two and get married then. I hate the idea of you being talked about like that. If we just-"

"Stop there," Katie interrupted. "We're getting married in May and that's final. We've already booked the caterer and got the master of ceremonies, and we've almost got the invitations designed-"

"Katie," Oliver interrupted, a rare thing for him. "Those things aren't important. We can do them all again in two or three years. What is important is us being ready and you not being the subject of every sports and gossip column headline."

"So what if I am?" Katie asked. "I love you. And you love me. And I want to get married now. Not in two years, _now_. I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I want the rest of my life to start as soon as possible. I don't care if people think it's because I'm pregnant. So what? I'm not, and eventually they will figure that out when I don't blow up to the size of a balloon. And even if I was, would that really be so bad?"

"No," he said. "No it wouldn't. But, we agreed, not yet-"

"I know that, silly," she smiled. "But, all I'm saying is that either way, our life is good. And we're going to be happy together. And we're going to have the most beautiful wedding anyone has ever seen. And that's that."

"That's good enough for me," Oliver smiled too, and kissed her.

**So, as I mentioned above, I know it's been a while, but I'm suddenly really inspired. Hopefully, the next chapter will be up soon. Please review though. Reviews make a huge difference to me and help me stay inspired. Thanks!**


	10. Babygate

**Told you updates would be back again. Enjoy!**

Katie and Oliver awoke the next morning to a tapping at the window.

"Ugh!" She pulled the covers over her head. Neither she nor Oliver had practice that morning, and she didn't want to miss these precious hours of sleep.

"Katie..." Oliver moaned, nudging her. "Get it!"

"I don't want to..." she mumbled, but nonetheless she got up and opened the window. It was their copy of the _Daily Prophet _and _Quidditch __Weekly. _She looked at the magazine first, and was pleased that neither she nor Oliver was on the cover. As she climbed back into bed, she set the magazine aside and propped up her pillows before opening the paper. The main article was about Kingsley Shaklebolt winning the most recent election for Ministry of Magic, to nobody's surprise.

"Um...Katie? Have you read this?"

"Read what?" She turned to see Oliver leaning on his elbow and looking at the open _Quidditch Weekly_. She groaned. "Don't tell me, it's Babygate?"

"Basically, yes." He held the magazine open to show an article with a picture of Katie's hand pushing up against the camera, her ring prominently placed in the photo. The title read: _Bell and Wood's Shotgun Wedding: Is a Baby on the Way?_ The article asserted that, as Katie and Oliver were being so secretive, rushing into the marriage so fast, and refusing to comment, there was obviously a scandal underfoot. Neither Gwenog nor Williams had agreed to speak to the reporter, but apparently that only proved that Katie was pregnant and hiding it.

"Well," she said, smirking, "At least the ring looks good in the picture."

Oliver let out a dry laugh. "At least it wasn't on the front page."

"Exactly," Katie said, smiling. "See? It's not so bad after all." She leaned in and kissed him. "Now, let's get up and have breakfast before training, alright?"

"Sure," he said with a smile, getting out of bed as well and following her into the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around her as she pulled cereal out of the cupboard. "Hey, wait a minute, cereal? Where's the bacon?"

"We're out," she said, rolling her eyes. "You know, if I wasn't the only one who ever went to the store we might have bacon more often."

"But, we agreed that buying and preparing food was _your_ job and that cleaning up and taking out trash was _my_ job."

"Well then, I don't complain about how you clean the house or take out the trash do I?"

"No..."

"Then you don't complain about what food I serve. Deal?"

"Ugh, _fine_," he grumbled, taking his bowl and plopping down in a chair at the table.

Katie rolled her eyes at his dramatics and sat down beside him.

* * *

When Katie arrived at the Harpies' training pitch that afternoon, she was unsurprised when Gwenog pulled her aside on her way into the changing rooms.

"Bell-"

"I know, I know," Katie interrupted. "I saw the article. Thank you for not commenting. This'll all blow over soon enough when I don't start blowing up like a balloon anyway. I really am sorry. I know I bring a lot of unwanted publicity..."

"Hold it right there, Bell," Gwenog said. "I'm not here to talk about that rubbish. It's not your or Woods' fault and I honestly couldn't care less what drab they publish about you as long as it's provably not true, which this clearly is. Honestly, seeing as you both get through matches in a drama-free manor now, I don't really see it as a problem. What I wanted to ask you about is your jersey. Will you be needing a new one?"

"Why would I need a new jersey?" Katie asked. She had been taken aback by Gwenog's understanding about the pregnancy scandal, and now was confused as to the sudden change in topic.

"Are you changing your name? We'd need to print _Wood_ on the back of the jersey then."

"Oh," Katie said, nonplussed. It hadn't occurred to her that she would change her name, but she didn't feel like she could answer without talking to Oliver first. "I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know. Soon."

"It'd better be soon," Gwenog said. "Now hurry up and get your things on. Everyone else," she called to the waiting teammates, "Get flying!"

* * *

"I'm home!" Oliver called as he apparated into the flat's living room. He could smell Katie's steak and kidney pie and smiled.

"Hello!" Katie called from the kitchen. "Perfect timing. Dinner's nearly ready."

"Smells delicious," Oliver said as he entered the kitchen. He went over to the cabinets and pulled out plates, cups, silverware, and napkins for them, setting out everything on the small kitchen table. As Oliver poured butterbeers Katie put pie and a scoop of peas on each of their plates.

"How was practice?" Oliver asked as they sat down.

"Good," Katie said. "Actually, Gwenog was asking me about my jersey for next year." Oliver raised an eyebrow. "I thought it was something we should talk about."

"Thought _what_ was something we should talk about?"

"Well, my name," Katie said. "And whether or not I'll be, you know, changing it."

"Of course you will be, won't you?" Oliver said. It hadn't occurred to him that she _wouldn't_ be changing her name.

"Will I?" Katie asked, a little affronted. "I mean, my name is Katie Bell, I'm not sure I want to renounce it. Plus, I'm known professionally as Katie Bell. I don't know that I want to change."

"But, that's what's _supposed_ to happen," Oliver said, truly nonplussed.

"Says who?" Katie flared.

"Says everyone! I don't know any woman who hasn't changed her name when she got married!"

"Well clearly they exist cause otherwise Gwenog wouldn't have asked me!"

"But why wouldn't you want my name? Isn't that part of being married? Being part of one family? Isn't that what you want?"

Neither of them was eating anymore. They stared at each other from across the small kitchen table, and the distance suddenly felt like several miles rather than a few feet.

"Of course I want that," Katie said quietly.

"Then it's settled. It's just a name."

"Then why don't you change yours?" Katie demanded, standing up. "If it's 'just a name,' then why don't you change yours? Hm?"

"Because-Well, because-" Oliver sputtered.

"Exactly! It isn't just a name! And I'm not changing mine!" Katie shouted.

"A minute ago, you said you wanted to talk about it, and suddenly instead of thinking rationally now you're just being stubborn!"

"No, I'm being rational. If you aren't willing to give up part of your identity, why should I? Because I'm the girl? I don't have to put up with this. I'm going to bed." And with that Katie stormed out of the room.

Oliver sat at the table eating his steak and kidney pie for a few minutes, hoping it would give her time to cool off. She just wasn't thinking rationally. Obviously, she would end up changing her name and be happy to take his. That was being married, after all, sharing a name. It made you part of the same family. He loved the idea of her being Katie Wood. It made their union real to him. She was just being stubborn. She'd come around.

Once he was done eating, he put Katie's food and the other remaining leftovers in the fridge and washed all of the dishes He did all of this without magic so as to give Katie more time to cool off. He then walked through the living room to the bedroom, only to find the door to the room shut. He turned the handle only to find it unyielding.

"Katie? Katie, _please_ let me in!" Silence. "I'm sorry." More silence. He sighed. "Can we please talk about this?"

The lock clicked. He turned the handle tentatively. Katie was curled up on their bed in one of his old jerseys, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Katie?" he asked tentatively. "Do you mind if I come in?"

"I unlocked the door, didn't I?" she retorted, not looking at him.

He walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge, leaving about a foot between himself and Katie, who stayed put in the middle of the mattress. "I'm sorry," he began. "I didn't realize that this was going to be a problem for you. I didn't realize that you wanted to keep your name so badly."

"It's not that," she said. "It's that you just _assumed_ that I would change it and when I said I wasn't sure you tried to decide for me. I know I said I wanted to discuss it but it's still _my _name and therefore _my_ decision."

"I know," he said softly. "I just-It hadn't really occurred to me that you would keep your name. You know how traditional my family is. I should't have assumed. Maybe I just really like the idea of you being Katie Wood. It makes us a team, you know?"

"We are a team," she answered, releasing her knees and sitting cross-legged. "Whether I change my name or no. To be honest, I really wasn't sure what I wanted until that argument. Now I know that I _do_ want to keep the name though. And _not_just to be stubborn. It's part of who I am. It's not just about being professionally known as Katie Bell, it's about the entire Bell clan. It's about my brothers and sister and cousins and aunts and uncles. I'm part of such a huge family and I don't ever want to leave them behind, and keeping the name is a part of that. Do you understand?"

"Yes," he answered. "I do."

He reached for her hand cautiously, a gesture at which she rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, come here," before pulling him over to her and kissing him.

"But," he said, pulling away, "There is _one_ thing I hope I won't have to give up..."

"Yes?" she asked skeptically.

"Please tell me we'll be having baby Woods, not baby Wood-Bells or Bell-Woods or whatever..."

"No baby Bell-Woods," Katie agreed. "Baby Bells will be fine," she added with a smirk.

Oliver rolled his eyes. "You're impossible."

* * *

"Katie? Oliver?" _Bang. Bang. Bang._ "Open up! We know you're in there!"

"Ugh!" Katie groaned, rolling over in bed. "Oliver, will you get it?"

"They're _your_ brothers," Oliver moaned back from under his pillow. "_You_ get it!"

"Please?" she begged, pulling the blankets up over her face.

"Fine," he grumbled. "Only because I love you."

He stumbled out of bed and into the living room, closing the door behind him. He didn't even care that he was just wearing his boxers and an undershirt. At this point Katie's brothers could just deal.

"You people do know that it's 7 AM on a Sunday, right? The only day we don't have training?" Oliver said indignantly as he opened the door. He regretted his comment, not to mention his choice in attire, immediately after opening the door and seeing the three men that stood on the other side. Ian, the largest and the most intimidating by far, stood in the middle, a hulking mass towering over their doorstep. Paul and Patrick flanked him, looking equally threatening. Oliver was taken aback by their appearance, and actually took a full step back. In the last year and several months, Oliver had gotten to know Katie's brothers, and even considered them his friends. They had been more than happy at Oliver and Katie's engagement the month before and had been over to the house to talk about the wedding with Katie two or three times since then. Why they had suddenly appeared there looking so threatening Oliver could not imagine.

"Um...Come in," Oliver said, stepping aside. All three filed in, first Paul, then Patrick, and finally Ian. The three of them squeezed themselves onto Oliver and Katie's couch, leaving Oliver standing awkwardly in front of them, suddenly very aware of his boxers and undershirt. "If you guys could wait a second, I'll just wake Katie up and get dressed and we'll get some breakfast."

"No," Ian said. "That won't be necessary just yet. We know how Katie likes her sleep. We hoped if we came early we could talk to you."

"Oh?" Oliver asked.

"Sit," Patrick said. Oliver, though he disliked being told to sit down in his own living room, obeyed without argument.

"So, to what do I owe the-"

"We're just going to ask you flat out," Ian interrupted. "Is it true?"

"Is _what_ true?" Oliver asked, truly nonplussed.

Paul held up that weeks edition of _Quidditch Weekly__. _It had been folded open to the page bearing the large photo of Katie's ring hand and the headline _Bell and Wood's Shotgun Wedding: Is a Baby on the_ Way?.

"Come off it," Oliver said. "It's Rita Skeeter writing here! Honestly! Did you three really come all the way over here at 7 in the morning on a Sunday just to confirm some trash written by Rita Skeeter?"

"You didn't answer," Paul said.

"Of course it's not true!" Oliver said. "It's just-"

"Good." Ian cut him off again. "Because, if we find out that you're only marrying our baby sister because you've knocked her up, you'll-"

"Excuse me?" Oliver interrupted, too affronted to care that he had cut Ian off mid-sentence. Ian, stunned by Oliver's nerve, did not stop Oliver from continuing. Patrick and Paul, similarly stunned, also remained silent. Though Oliver was always friendly with them, joking and teasing them as they did each other and him, he had never interrupted them during a serious talk before. He, like their sisters' other boyfriends, had always been too intimidated. Now, however, that reservation seemed to have abandoned him. "How, after all of these months, can you possibly think so little of me? After over a year of being with Katie, after she's become a part of my family and I've become a part of hers, or at least I _thought_ I had, could you think I would do something like that? And how could you think that Katie would put up with it? Don't you have any respect for either of us at all? How can you possibly-"

"You don't understand," Patrick said. "After Mary Ann-"

"No," Oliver continued, bulldozing on. "That's not a good enough reason anymore. I know that what happened to Marry Ann was horrible and I know you had to see for yourselves about me at first, but we aren't where we were a year and a half ago and Katie isn't Marry Ann. You've come to our house, eaten at our table, invited us to your homes! You've seen us together, you've seen me. You know what kind of person I am. Why can't you trust me to continue being that person? You want to know why Katie and I are getting married so soon and planning to have the wedding so quickly? Because we're in love. I asked her to marry me last month because I love her. And because I know that I'm never going to love another woman the way I love her because there'll never be another woman who gets me the way Katie does. Believe me, I know that Katie is one-of-a-kind. I know what an unbelievable woman she is. And I know that I'm damn lucky that I found her and I'm damn lucky that I earned her love. But I _earned_ it. I treat her right every single day and I plan to keep treating her right from now until one of us dies. I plan on loving every part of her, the good and the bad, and I plan on building a life with her that will make us happy. All I want is for you guys to be a part of that. Is that possible? Will it ever be possible for you to fully trust me with her? Katie's not a little girl, she doesn't need taking care of, but if she ever did, please trust me to always take care of her the way that she takes care of me. Please trust me to treasure her and take care of her every single day that I'm alive because that's what I plan on doing."

Ian, Patrick, and Paul all gaped at Oliver's outburst. Oliver, who had somehow ended up standing, was breathing heavily. He'd forgotten what he was wearing, forgotten who he was speaking to, forgotten just about everything in the heat of the moment. Now, as realization of what he'd said and to whom hit him, he felt the desire to look away from the three men, but did not.

Slowly, Ian stood up and extended his hand to Oliver. "I'm sorry," he said. "We haven't been fair."

Oliver took his hand. "I know it comes from a good place. I know how much you three care about her. Just believe that I care about her as much. Alright?"

"Alright," Ian nodded. Patrick and Paul stood up as well to shake Oliver's hand.

"Now, finally, can we be friends? Real friends?" Oliver asked.

Ian nodded. "Equal friends. I don't know about Paul and Patrick, but I trust you with our Katie-Kate."

Patrick and Paul nodded in agreement.

"Now," Oliver said. "I'm going to get dressed, if that's fine by you."

"You're not planning on feeding us?" Paul asked, pretending to be indignant.

Oliver rolled his eyes as he said, "Have we ever _not_ fed you? Give me a sec to get dressed and get Katie up and we'll find something."

"Fair enough," Patrick said, sitting down again. "I can't believe she slept through that though. That was quite a stirring declaration."

Oliver turned away so that they wouldn't see him blush and said, "I'm fairly certain she _could_ sleep through that. Katie could sleep through an explosion in the front room, let alone some loud talking."

"Fair point," Paul conceded, also sitting down.

Oliver retreated into the bedroom, where, sure enough, Katie was still fast asleep, her head under a pillow. Oliver smiled at her and was careful to remain quiet while dressing. Once dressed in a t-shirt and some jeans, he leaned over her and kissed her forehead gently. "Katie? Katie, come on, you've got to get up. Guess who's here..."

Katie rolled over and sat up slowly. "Who?"

"Get dressed and come out and see."

"Fine," Katie sighed, rolling out of bed and muttering, "It's too damn early for _anyone _to be here. I don't care if it's the minister of magic."

Oliver laughed.

A few minutes later Katie and Oliver both emerged from the bedroom fully clothed. When Katie caught sight of her brothers she said, "What on Earth are you lot doing here? I thought I dreamed it was you banging on the door, cause I assumed you knew better than to wake me at 7 on a Sunday!"

"Well," Ian began, looking bashful.

"They were just here for breakfast," Oliver broke in. "The gits," he added as an afterthought. As Katie rolled her eyes and moved into the kitchen a knowing look passed between Ian and Oliver. None of the men present ever told Katie about what had happened that morning, and from the outside, the brothers' attitude towards Oliver didn't seem to change. They joked around in the same way, but underneath the snark was a foundation of understanding and equality that had not been there before. And though none of the men ever spoke about it again, that conversation remained in their memory as the day that Oliver earned the trust of brothers whose trust was not forthcoming and never would be. But he had their trust now, and never lost it.

**Hey guys! I know this chapter was sort of all over the place, but I hope you enjoyed it. Review please!**

**XOXO**

**Gossip Girl Here**


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